


Safe in Your Arms

by seveillon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Child Eren Yeager, Comfort, Dreams and Nightmares, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Kid Fic, Nightmares, Other, Parent Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Parent-Child Relationship, papa levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 04:53:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2297261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seveillon/pseuds/seveillon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren has a strange, re-occuring nightmare and runs to his papa's bedside for comfort. Some cute feels and father-son love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safe in Your Arms

**Author's Note:**

> this is totally an unedited piece so I apologize for that, but ima lazy p.o.s
> 
> enjoy some Papa!Levi and Kid!Eren because they are adorbs and I need some feels

A pudgy finger insistently poking his neck is what jarred Levi out of his sleep. He opened his eyes to darkness. Only the faint white glow of illuminated numbers on the alarm clock lent any light to the room, casting strange shadows across the walls.

“Papa,” a voice whispered, urgently.

Levi looked over to where the voice was, shifting to avoid the incessantly poking finger. Eren stood by the bedside, blanky tucked under one arm, thumb in his mouth. The boy was restless, constantly shifting weight from one foot to the other. His eyes were wide and scanning the room, like he was expecting something to pop out of the shadows at him. “Papa,” he whined.

“Hnng,” Levi cleared his throat, revitalizing his vocal chords. “What is it, Eren? Did you have a bad dream?”

Eren nodded his head, eyes still warily searching the room.

“Hey, now, look at me,” Levi coaxed. “Papa’s here, okay? Come up here and tell me all about it.” He pushed the blankets to the side, rearranging himself to make room for Eren to crawl up.

Eren crawled clumsily into the too-tall bed, grasping the silk sheets to pull himself up with some difficulty. When he finally reached the summit, thanks to some help from Levi, he snuggled up close, pressing his back into Levi’s chest. Somehow, he had managed keep his thumb in his mouth through the whole maneuver.

Pushing hair back from Eren’s face, he asked, “Feel any better now?” Levi felt Eren’s head bob a yes against his chest. “What was your dream about?”

Eren took a shaky breath, shivering slightly. “Nightmare, Papa. Not a dream. There were mean people who were trying to take me away from you. You fought, but I was so scared you were going to get hurt. I wanted you to stop. I went with the bad people, hoping you’d be okay from them if I did.” He shook his head, hot tears rolled down his cheeks. “They lied, Papa! They took you and you fought harder, shouting at me. I thought maybe you were mad, or scared. I tried running to you but I was stuck in place. You kept going farther away from me.” He turned into Levi’s chest, his tiny body trembling with fear. Levi felt the tears and snot leak onto his shirt, but he ignored it, focusing completely on Eren. He’d deal with the mess later.

“Big, big giants came along,” Eren continued. “They were smiling, but it wasn’t a nice smile, Papa. It was scary. And they went after you and me. I woke up as soon as one grabbed me.” Eren’s little fingers gripped hard on Levi’s shirt, who was scared the fabric might rip.

“Shh, shh, shh,” Levi eased the fingers off his shirt, folding them into his bigger hands instead. “I’m here now. I’ll keep you safe,” he promised. Since Eren was three he had been having similar nightmares to this every few months. They were so vivid that Eren wouldn’t be able to sleep for a few days afterwards, for fear of experiencing the terror again. Levi had taken him to the doctor to see if he could help the poor child, but the doctor couldn’t recommend anything. He was too young, and probably just having a little bout of nightmares that would go away soon enough. That’s what the doctor said at least. But Eren was turning six soon, and the nightmares still came. He handled them better now, but sometimes he would wake up screaming and it would take Levi hours to calm him down again. How could a toddler have such horrifying dreams? He’d ask himself, to no avail. 

Because the doctor was a well of worthlessness, Levi turned to books and homeopathic recipes. He put lavender sachets in Eren’s pillowcase, gave him glasses of warm milk or chamomile tea, even tried some feng shui and rearranged his room. Nothing worked.

Levi rubbed a hand up and down Eren’s back, trying to calm the tremors that rattled the poor boy’s body. “I will never let any one take you from me, Eren. I will always fight for you, and I will always win.” Determination dripped from his voice. He didn’t know why, but it almost felt like he had fought for Eren before, like maybe these dreams weren’t just weird visions conjured up during subconscious brain stimulation.

He looked at his bedside table, his eyes having adjusted to the faint glow of light by now. His searching eyes caught sight of a box of tissues, just barely in reach of his arms. He stretched out, trying not to jostle Eren too much, and grabbed a tissue. “Blow,” he said, putting it up to Eren’s dripping nose. With a slight frown of disgust he dropped the sopping mess into the trash bin by his bed, but at least Eren could breathe through his nose now.

“Papa,” he whispered. Eren’s shaking had gone away now, but there was still some fear left over in his eyes. “Why do I keep having these dreams? I don’t like them.” He popped his thumb back in his mouth, sucking furiously to soothe his nerves.

Levi sighed. “I wish I knew the answer, baby, but I don’t. However,” he added, after seeing Eren shift uncomfortably at the uncertainty of his father. “I do know you are my little boy, and you’re a fighter. You’ll beat these nightmares back, save yourself and me. I bet my life on it. You’re so strong, Eren, you’re my son.”

Eren gave a lopsided smile, snuggling up impossibly tight to Levi. “I won’t let no one hurt you, Papa,” he vowed quietly. Sleep was creeping up, making his eyes flutter uncontrollably. The poor kid was exhausted from the mental stress.

Brushing a hand over his forehead, Levi bent to place a kiss on Eren’s cheek. The soft skin was flushed and left behind the faint taste of salty tears on his lips. “Sleep, now, Eren. Papa’s got you.” He folded an arm protectively around Eren. In a few minutes Eren was sleeping peacefully against his side, thumb stuck in his mouth, a look of harmony settled over his features. One of his cheeks was squished against Levi’s chest, puckering his lips at an awkward angle. Levi couldn’t help but stare at his sleeping child, his soft features even more exaggerated in sleep. “I will always keep you safe,” he promised, before drifting off into sleep.


End file.
